Two years in the making. That's the thing about bike trips that require more than a long weekend of scooting off from work, family and other commitments. They take just that... commitment.

Several times either my brother and I, or my best mate Tom and I, had announced it as a dead cert in January, only to find that the middle of the year rolled around and work commitments swiped it aside and the much fantasized trip departed to the back burner. Only this year was different. We shook on it, threatened broken friendships and torrents of abuse should the unthinkable come to pass, and swore it was on. So it was.